Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. $ADP

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,671 shares during the quarter. Automatic Data Processing comprises about 1.9% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Automatic Data Processing were worth $115,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Automatic Data Processing by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Automatic Data Processing in the first quarter worth $762,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 3.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 123,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,765,000 after acquiring an additional 4,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Automatic Data Processing by 5.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,677,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 80.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ADP shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $315.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Automatic Data Processing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Automatic Data Processing from $288.00 to $272.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Kwon sold 900 shares of Automatic Data Processing stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $234,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,118,180. The trade was a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Automatic Data Processing Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ADP opened at $265.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.43. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. has a 52-week low of $247.18 and a 52-week high of $329.93. The company has a market cap of $107.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.05. Automatic Data Processing had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 70.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Automatic Data Processing has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.811-11.011 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Automatic Data Processing, Inc. will post 9.93 EPS for the current year.

Automatic Data Processing Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from Automatic Data Processing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. Automatic Data Processing’s payout ratio is currently 67.13%.

Automatic Data Processing Profile

Automatic Data Processing, Inc (ADP) is a global provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll solutions. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey, ADP began as a payroll processing company and has evolved into a diversified provider of workforce management, HR, benefits administration, tax and compliance services, and analytics for employers of all sizes.

ADP’s product portfolio includes payroll processing and tax filing, time and attendance systems, benefits administration, talent management, and HR outsourcing.